Start your cultivation journey by allocating points to your Destiny.

After buying the books, Lu Chen went to a general store and bought several different sizes and shapes of casserole dishes.

First, try refining elixirs using a clay pot.

Once we truly understand the terminology, we can customize it according to our needs.

When he was almost done with his work, he carried a few casserole dishes toward the inn and saw one of Hu Bufan's attendants coming to find him.

"Young Master Qin, my master has finished his business and was just about to look for you."

"Oh, all done?" Lu Chen nodded, returned to the inn and put his things away, just as Hu Bufan came over to knock on the door.

"Let's go. I went to Huichuntang myself. They were so arrogant. They wouldn't sell anything without a sign," Lu Chen said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Hu Bufan chuckled: "That's how most big pharmacies are; they cater to different customers. Let's go, I happen to have a Huichuntang sign."

Lu Chen took all the silver notes, a thick stack, and prepared to buy up all the precious medicines in their shop!

Upon arriving at the store entrance, it turned out to be the same sales assistant. Seeing Lu Chen, it was clear that the sales assistant had a good memory and still remembered what Lu Chen looked like.

After all, Daniel Wu's appearance is quite outstanding, so it's hard to forget him in such a short time.

"Young master, without the Rejuvenation Token, it's impossible to purchase one..."

Lu Chen nodded towards Hu Bufan: "I came with him, he has it."

Hu Bufan took out a green sign and waved it in front of the saleswoman.

The sales assistant's smile became noticeably more genuine, no longer the professional one she had before, as she led the two to the second floor.

"Gentlemen, what kind of precious medicine would you like to purchase?" she asked softly, her voice clear and melodious.

Lu Chen did not answer, but looked around.

Huichun Hall is indeed very large. There were quite a few people on the second floor, but it didn't feel crowded at all.

On the counter, there were exquisite wooden boxes, with signs in front of them listing the names and effects of the precious medicines.

"Are there any precious medicines that can improve one's aptitude?"

Lu Chen asked.

The sales assistant's expression froze.

"Young master, we don't have this kind of precious medicine here."

Hu Bufan smiled and said, "We only have some common medicinal herbs here. Things that can improve one's aptitude are extremely rare and precious. They are impossible to find here, and even if they did appear, they wouldn't wait for us to buy them."

He looked at the sales assistant and said, "You should have a brochure about this medicine, right? Take it out and let me see."

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment!" The sales assistant quickly went to fetch the brochures, one for each person.

Lu Chen opened the manual and saw that some precious medicines were marked with checkmarks and others with circles, so he asked, "What do these circled and checked marks represent?"

"Young master, circles indicate that the item is sold out, and checkmarks indicate that it has been reserved but not yet sold. If anyone else is interested in buying it, they can place a bid at a fixed price, and the highest bidder wins."

Lu Chen nodded and carefully looked through the pages.

He had seen some of the precious medicines in medical books before, while others were new to him.

The prices listed there also surprised him.

For example, the Blood Spirit Ginseng, there is a 40-year-old one here, which costs 20 taels, which is ten times that of a 20-year-old one!

There is also a Xuanhuang Plum, which can accelerate cultivation and greatly improve qi and blood and physical strength, but it costs 10 taels of silver.

"Damn it, I thought I was pretty rich, but it turns out that 50 taels can't buy much at all!"

For the first time, Lu Chen truly felt his poverty.

He glanced through the list, thinking about which medicines would be most suitable for his younger siblings.

After a moment's thought, he pointed to the medicinal herbs above: "Two 30-year-old Jiao Xue Teng plants, two Xuanhuang Li fruits, one thousand-year-old Yang Hun Mu wood, two 20-year-old Xue Ling Shen ginseng roots, ten Lei Wen Bodhi seeds, and sixteen Long Xiang Duan Gu Cao plants."

These items add up to 500,000 taels of silver.

A single dragon blood vine costs 50,000 taels of silver, a single thunder-patterned bodhi seed costs 10,000 taels of silver, a piece of soul-nourishing wood costs 30,000 taels of silver, and each piece is one foot square. The cheapest dragon-elephant bone-forging grass is 2,000 taels of silver per plant.

"Yes, young master!" The sales assistant was obviously used to seeing rich people and was not surprised by Lu Chen's 50 yuan deal. She quickly packed up all the medicinal materials he needed.

"Young master, the total is 500,002. I'll charge you 500,000."

Lu Chen took out the silver notes.

Hu Bufan was not surprised.

He could basically guess that the incident in Shahu County was most likely the work of the man in front of him.

Having this much money is normal.

After collecting all the medicinal herbs, Lu Chen asked, "Do you have any alchemy furnaces or similar items for sale here?"

"An alchemy furnace? You mean the kind of furnace that Taoist priests often use? We don't have any here. You can go to the Sanyuan Temple; there are many Taoist priests there, and perhaps they have one."

"That's what the sales assistant said in a gentle voice."

"What do you need this for?" Hu Bufan asked, somewhat curious.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "The alchemy furnace is for alchemy, of course. I'm a little curious about it and would like to give it a try."

"Sanyuan Temple isn't far from here. If you want to go, I'd like to go with you."

"Alright, let's go!"

After temporarily storing all the medicinal herbs at the pharmacy, Lu Chen followed Hu Bufan to the Sanyuan Temple.

"This Sanyuan Temple actually occupies such a large area within the city?"

Lu Chen was somewhat surprised.

"It is said that the Sanyuan Temple has some connections with people in the palace."

Hu Bufan spoke in a flat tone.

"Why do I get the feeling that you have a problem with this Three Elements View? What, do you have a grudge against me?" Lu Chen turned his head and asked.

"No, you misheard." Hu Bufan said calmly as he strode into the temple.

This Sanyuan Temple is quite different from Qingjing Temple. Although Sanyuan Temple is not small, it doesn't have many people and doesn't have much incense offering.

The majority of people inside were Taoist priests.

Lu Chen randomly asked an older-looking Taoist priest, "Excuse me, Master, I am somewhat interested in alchemy and would like to ask if there is anyone here who knows alchemy. I would like to learn from them."

The old Taoist priest was taken aback.

Alchemy?

He thought for a moment and shook his head: "I haven't heard of any of my fellow disciples in the temple who are skilled in alchemy."

"Oh, is that so?" Lu Chen was somewhat disappointed, yet unwilling to give up. "Do you know anyone in Shanyang Prefecture who has any involvement in this area?"

"No, this stuff is poisonous. These days, hardly anyone likes alchemy anymore, right?" the old Taoist priest said after thinking for a moment.

poisonous?

Are you talking about using heavy metals like mercury to make elixirs?

That is indeed poisonous.

He sighed softly, bowed to the old Taoist priest, and looked at Hu Bufan: "Looks like there's no hope. Shall we leave?"

"These Taoist priests aren't very skilled, but they do make excellent pastries. I'll take you to try some."

Hu Bufan had a very poor impression of the Three Elements View, and his words were full of disdain.

"Shortbread? Since we're already here, let's buy some to try."

When the two walked out of the temple, one of them was carrying a bag of shortbread.

Lu Chen directly unwrapped the cake that was wrapped in paper.

"Oh, it's individually packaged?"

He took out a shortbread wrapped in paper and suddenly paused.

This wrapping paper looks familiar...

The pattern on it...

How come the papers look so similar to those found in Hao Cheng and Wang Xiong's homes?